Legends and Kisses
by o0SummerSkies0o
Summary: Ino and Shikamaru under a tree, talking about legends and kisses. ONE SHOT Enjoy!


Legends and Kisses

"Legend says, Shika-kun," Ino began, turning around to face the giant redwood, "that if you kiss the person you love most under this tree, your love will last forever."

Shikamaru could feel irritation welling up in him. Was she dragging him here to discuss a plan of how to get the Sharingan user underneath the tree? He stuck his hands into his pockets as he muttered a non committal reply to Ino, looking at the ground.

"Shika-kun." Her voice held small hint of command.

Shikamaru turned around to look at her. He never could deny her much, even if it galled him that he had to listen to Ino go on and on about Sasuke. "What?"

"I want you to be that person I kiss. Even though," Ino paused for a moment as she pouted, "You stole my first kiss." Ice blue eyes were piercing as they met his. "Will you?"

Shikamaru stood still. "I'm not a replacement for Sasuke," he began heatedly. "When I-"

"I never said you were," Ino interrupted him. "Truth is, I never really liked Sasuke in the first place."

"What?"

Ino sighed irritably. "I was only 12 for crying out loud Shika-kun. You can't expect me to carry a torch for that long do you?"

"Well, you give a damn good impression of it."

"Oh."

"Oh? Is that all you can say Ino? You spent the last three years of our lives chasing after the bastard. You can't expect me to be jumping up and down in joy for your sudden change of mind. I'm not a toy to be used. I like you, but I can only take so much."

"Are you done now?"

"What do you mean 'are you done now?'!! You just dropped a bomb on me!"

"Like I said Shika-kun, are you done?"

Shikamaru gaped in shock at Ino for a moment before he made a strangled noise. "Sure. Why not? I'm done."

"Ok then. First off, I didn't carry a torch for Sasuke for the past three years. I-"

"Suuuure you didn't," Shikamaru sneered. "You only," his voice changed to a high mocking falsetto as he tried to imitate Ino. "Oh Sasuke-kun! Fancy catching you here at the Ichiraku!!!" Shikamaru pantomimed Ino's past pouncings on Sasuke.

Ino flushed. She had been rather silly when she was younger. "You don't see me doing that anymore do you?"

"That's only because Sasuke is a freak who wants nothing more than to kill his brother. That's enough to turn anyone away from their crushes. No body sane would really want a person who wants to commit fratricide for revenge as their loved one."

"Itachi did slaughter his family," Ino pointed out.

Shikamaru threw his hands up in disgust. "There you go. You're still defending the bastard."

"I am not!" Ino flared. "I'm pointing out the obvious reason as to why he does want to kill Itachi so badly!"

"Point schmoint. This is getting ridiculous Ino. You don't like me. You just see me as a rebound." He turned around to leave.

"Nara Shikamaru!!" Ino shrilled. Several kunai whizzed by him, framing his shadow. "Don't you dare leave me without my approval!"

Shikamaru turned back. He could feel his irriation begin to disappear. It was simply too much of an effort to stay angry. "What Ino?" he asked tiredly.

"You stole my first kiss! And if I really didn't like you, I'd have killed you for it! First kisses are supposed to be special!!"

"You weren't breathing Ino! I had to get some air into you somehow! Would you have preferred Choji to have done it?!"

"That's not the point!" A vein popped out of Ino's forehead. Why the hell did Shikamaru have to over-think everything?!?! Couldn't he see that she was trying to tell him that she had liked him for years?! "The point was that you stole my first kiss! You could have been romantic about it!"

"How?!" Shikamaru snarled at her. "Let you die and kiss you at your funeral Ino?! Sorry, but the idea of kissing your corpse isn't particularly appealing." He got the packed obentos Ino had prepared for their outing thrown at him for that remark.

"You could have taken me out to dinner! I gave you so many hints!"

"All of which I couldn't pick up because you still went dopey over Sasuke!"

"So I could prove a point to Forehead girl!"

"And what was your point?!"

"That rivalry over a boy was stupid! As you can see, it failed! We still aren't talking!"

"Oh." Any lingering fire he had went out of him. When the hell did Ino get so complicated? She used to be so straightforward. What you see is what you get. You never had to second-guess Ino's motives.

"Oh? That's all you can say?" Ino asked incredulously. She had just dropped a major bomb on Shikamaru and all he could say was 'oh'??

"You know what your problem is Ino?" Shikamaru said as he began to advance towards the girl. His eyes glinted in the light, the way a predator's did when a prey had been decided. Ino faced him head on. She wasn't the type to back down because things looked dangerous. It was one of the things he liked most about her.

"What?" She snapped, folding her arms. She looked cute with the sun streaming down on her. It made her blond hair shine in a golden halo and it gave tints of rosy-ness to her pale coloring. She looked like a flower ready to bloom Shikamaru decided. The flushed cheeks and flashing eyes were definitely appealing. It wasn't hard to see why the boys in the village -including himself, thought that she was hot.

"You think too little. And I," he said, stopping before her, "think too much." He ignored her sputtering as he continued. "I say we find a happy medium and stop thinking all together, don't you think?" He bent his head down to capture her lips in a kiss, effectively quieting Ino. It was everything he imagined and more.

When they broke away, Ino was blushing. Shikamaru smiled. She really did look cute like that. It wasn't often that he saw that side to Ino. She was always so confident and in control. _I should kiss her more often_, Shikamaru thought.

He was pleasantly surprised when he felt Ino's hands seeking his. He lifted his hand to find hers and they entwined.

"You think it'll work?" She asked as she turned to stare up at the tree. Ino gave a small squeal of surprised as she felt Shikamaru yank at her and found herself abruptly in his arms. She smiled as she took in his scent, hand disengaging so she could hug him.

"What makes you think it won't?" he replied, mirroring her move. "What makes you think I'd ever let you go Ino?" She looked up at him, and he smiled. "I stole your first kiss after all, I'm not gonna let anyone else steal them."

She blushed as she buried her face into his chest.

"Ino?"

"Hmm?"

"Look at me."

She did.

"I plan to steal your second kiss as well. And your third, and fourth, and fifth…"

Owari

Author's Notes:

Hope you all liked the fic. I wrote it when I was busy trying to work on Deeper than Indigo. Ino and Shikamaru are – in my opinion, one of the cutest to be couples of Naruto fandom. They fight so much, but they get along so well! She'll be the one to motivate him to do more and he'll be the one to help her learn to calm down and smell the roses. A fair trade don't ya think? I hope you enjoyed this one shot while you wait for _Deeper than Indigo_ chapter 2!


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